Natural swimming pool

[MitchM]

A city that's a few hours north of me has opened a public swimming pool filtered by plants, zooplankton and mechanical filtration.

https://calgaryherald.com/news/cana...7e-495b-90da-a85b9e501496?video_autoplay=true

 

[Lisak1]

Very cool! Hopefully just the first one of many.

I was surprised at how small the plants were - I wonder if that was video from when they were first planted? I didn't hear mention of mechanical filtration - do you mean the granite and gravel that was referred to?

We need you to take a field trip and check this out for us @MitchM !

 

[Tula]

Loved reading this article

 

[Mucky_Waters]

I foresee this pool being regularly closed, not because I think the water quality is likely to be any worse than most natural bodies of water but rather because the water is being monitored and regularly tested. If health authorities had to test natural bodies of water where people regularly swim for fecal count many of them would probably be shut down too.
Still, I applaud their effort.

I wonder if they use UV clarifiers?

 

[Lisak1]

Our beaches here are tested on a regular basis -
Any public swimming area will be. And they are indeed closed on a regular basis for bacterial counts being too high.

 

[GBBUDD]

I'm all for the bog and wetland but as a public swimming area i can't see where unless there's a bog 10 times the size of a swimming area could mother nature keep up with humans and p in the pool per say. they are also relying on the temp and when it gets warm they said they shut down the pond. i'm sure the algae bloom could be fast and furious.

 

[MitchM]

Very cool! Hopefully just the first one of many.

I was surprised at how small the plants were - I wonder if that was video from when they were first planted? I didn't hear mention of mechanical filtration - do you mean the granite and gravel that was referred to?

We need you to take a field trip and check this out for us @MitchM !

My wife said the same thing - we should go up and check it out.
The article mentions a Neptune filter (sand), a wetland type filter used for wastewater treatment and UV clarifiers or sterilizers.
I think it also mentioned that right now it can handle about 400 people and once the plants grow in, up to 900 people.
A feces "brown event" as the lifeguards call it, would require people to leave the pool, until the filtration can process the waste and test results come back safe for people to enter the water again. A couple days is the estimate for that.
It's a $14.4M project.
I hope it works out.

 

[Lisak1]

A feces "brown event" as the lifeguards call it, would require people to leave the pool, until the filtration can process the waste and test results come back safe for people to enter the water again. A couple days is the estimate for that.

That's exactly how it's handled in our municipal - standard chlorinated variety - pool. We get notifications from the village when the pool will be closed due to a "bacterial event".

 

[Stephen Noble]

Very cool for sure. Looks quite popular based upon the line to get in. About 15 years ago, I covered a story about the ‘Living Machine’ which was reported to be capable of taking raw sewage and turning it into swimming pool safe water. I toured the Corkscrew swamp in Naples Florida and the Kansas City Discovery Center for the piece. As with this swimming pool, the efforts to use natural methods are amazing and commendable. I wonder how the Edmonton pool handles the winter. This is very interesting and I might contact them. Thanks for a great story MitchM!
Stephen